Clinical assessment of dietary supplementation therapy with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (w-3 PUFA) indicate that they have a beneficial impact in certain human diseases (1). Their molecular mechanisms of action in reducing local inflammation has remained unclear. w-3 PUFAs are held to act via several possible mechanisms, such as preventing conversion of arachidonic acid to proinflammatory eicosanoids, or serving as an alternative substrate for 5-lipoxygenase to produce less potent 5-series leukotrienes (2). Of interest, fish leukocytes rich in w-3 PUFA generate eicosanoids from eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; C20:5 w-3) that play signaling roles (3). However, the appropriate receptor site(s) has remained unidentified.
There is a need in the art for the identification of the receptor site(s) that interact with novel eicosanoids to help better understand the mode of action of such therapeutic agents.